 Rush to market
As a truffière
matures, and as the soil develops more organic richness, the
flavour changes. Maturity brings subtleties and it is
expected, consistency. Unfortunately, in the rush to get a
return on investment, truffles that are being sold
that are widely different in quality. Knowing what
the quality of your truffle is, isn't easy to judge. When
we've had so few European fresh truffles to compare with and
there is little interaction between the growers ( few of
whom can claim long experience).
Articles in some of the regional press publications suggest
that some growers have never tasted truffles before
their own crop produced some. Thinking of truffles as a get
rich scheme can only hurt all the values that have been
instilled in the produce over a long time.
That's a problem for the long term future of the Australian
industry. If sub standard truffles are released now and the
local and international restaurant trade turns away from
them, disappointed it could reduce Australian truffles to
second class.
It's obviously time for the new industry to get together.
The Australian Truffle Growers Association was formed in
December 2006 and Canberra grower Wayne Haslam is the
association's first President. Wayne says that there are now
about 100 growers with 30 of them producing truffles. "We
currently have 57 members and 16 of those are associates,
either non growers but in the industry or growers waiting to
plant" he said.
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Wayne estimates that the current
membership represents about half the growers Australia wide
and they manage approximately 250Ha or close to 100,000
trees, (at 400 trees/Ha), so the estimated total area
planted is 400 to 500 Ha across Australia.
"We also estimate that the current harvest in Australia will
be about 500kg, or 1/2 tonne, this year and therefore we
have the potential to be producing from 10 to 20 tonnes in 5
years time valued at up to $40 million. That is getting
close to the estimated total French production and is a
little frightening, if we are to be on top of quality and
have a good marketing plan in place."
Wayne says that New Zealand has led the way with a
legislated grading system for export and that there has to
be something similar here, however more than assuming that
every truffle is the same, the industry needs to educate the
grading people to assess the shape and perfume, just as wine
and olive oil judges do. There's some help from
technical developments that assume an artificial 'nose' may
do the job reliably.
Until then, it's left up to our chefs to test and taste
widely different truffles before they use them, and that's
covered in our story here >.
Web Sites with further information.
Australian
Truffle Grower's Association
(they sell Gareth Renowden's
'The Truffle Book' )
Truffles Australis in Tasmania who sell 'mycorrhized'
trees.
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